A Dive into Philadelphia

The third time I went to Philadelphia, I went to visit my friend Tommy, who is a graphic design artist in front end developer for a large corporation just outside city limits. He’d recently sold his car for the sake of a train and subway pass, as gas could cost up to $80 a month and car insurance and payments could cost at least a hundred per month. Hopping into taking the train for $30 per month with unlimited usage could save him about $2,000 per year or more on commuting expenses. Plus, he was vegan, and walking to work sometimes, so he is in great shape. With his business portfolio he established himself in the world as a prominent front end developer, and he started thinking about eventually getting additional schooling paid for and to one day work from home. Who says you can't get paid to get creative?

In general, Center Philly traffic absolutely sucks. Even getting to his small studio apartment was a nightmare, and when I finally found a secure valet parking, the $40 for an overnight pass completely drained whatever resources I had left. however, I knew that my car was safe, and that I could just hoof it around the city with my friend.

Considering the Philadelphia is an up-and-coming town with a lot of Millennials moving in, there are a lot of vegan-friendly options and nearly every restaurant, and the prices aren't actually too ridiculous. For example, a pint of ice cream cost me about $8, but in Iceland it probably would have cost me $12 or $13. I was able to get a vegan shaved ice for $8 at The Founder’s Fountain (link), and old timey ice cream parlor that has been in Philadelphia since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Dinner that night was at Tattooed Mom, a small restaurant and late night bar that had both omnivore friendly and vegan-friendly options. I got a Chubby Cheesesteak, made with Veganaise, chicken flavored seitan, tater tots, onions, mushrooms, and peppers. It was served and a toasted tortilla wrap and it was one of the best things I've ever eaten at a restaurant. We then went for vegan drinks at Charlie was a sinner, a vegan company that also owns HipCityVeg, which was my Santa Fe Southwest vegan "egg" the next morning. In addition, both bars I visited had happy hour price drinks, so I got loaded up on IPA and Porter for $3 a pop. Not bad Philadelphia, not bad. A happy plant-based dieter I was that day.

Just as exciting as the food were the people. There were so many beautiful people walking around, but there was also unfortunately a large demographic of homeless and mentally ill that were despondently wandering the streets. Men and women alike of all cultural and racial backgrounds were sitting on the street, both able-bodied and sitting on walkers, begging for change. Considering as to how I had to borrow money just to make this trip and the next happen, as my paycheck had not come through yet, I felt conceited and awful that I could not spare even a penny, as I was desperately broke myself.

What was the most exciting was all of the history that I got to experience with my friend Tommy and his girlfriend Miranda. We walked around downtown, seeing Penn's Landing where William Penn landed during the revolution, we got to stand in front of the building where the Declaration of Independence was signed, and we got to take pictures in front of the Liberty Bell. We got to see the historic district at all of the gothic churches and Barbershop style stores that still stood tall and proud. Indeed, everything was within walking distance and very humbling.

After meeting up with my friend and meeting his vegan girlfriend, we walked around and saw and did as much as we possibly could. Philadelphia has no shortage of museums and restaurants to visit. And, you can spend countless hours just walking around and ogling everything. This included a jazz rrio that became a quartet when a street Busker came by with his saxophone, a random guy playing congas for change on the corner near the old parliament, and some guy yodeling outside of the restaurant we ate at. Traffic continued to suck throughout my experience, and truly is the only thing that I did not like about visiting Philadelphia. 

Although it did not have enough time or money to spare, I went to the Eastern State Penitentiary to snap a few pictures. This is the prison where Al Capone was held at four the last couple of Decades of his life. When I get time and money to spend, I will definitely come back to visit this hallowed ground.

So without further ado, when you get the chance to do so, go on out and visit Philadelphia. You especially must come if you are fresh out of college and looking for a job, as the economy for Millennials is starting to flourish in this city.

Mount Davis and Sideling Hill

When I decided I was going to start hiking state highpoints, it made sense for my home state to be the first one to be hiked. And so, that's exactly what my hiking partner Travis and I did. From my house, the trail was about a 3-hour drive oh way, towards Pittsburgh. Since it's it's along the Maryland and Pennsylvania line, we crossed into Maryland a couple of times. from my house the trail was about a3 hour drive away towards Pittsburgh since its it's a long the Maryland didn't Pennsylvania line be crossed into Maryland a couple of times.

On the way there, we discovered sideling Hill that just like cross the border in Maryland. This hill got its unique features because civil engineers back in the 18th century thought it would be a good idea to try and blast drill a hole through a large mountain. This didn't work, and instead, resulted in a bifurcated Mountain with a path going through it. So naturally, we stopped to use the bathroom and admire the sights.

A few views of the hillside.

The highest point in PA itself is 3212 ft tall, in the surrounding area in the mountain itself or settled by coal miners. Back in the 1700s, there wasn't much to go off of, but they did name it after an individual who did a lot for the natural ecosystem. By this point in time, we have learned to gauge the difficulty of a trail ahead of us the fitness level of people that were coming back from the trailhead. In this case, there were surprisingly a large amounts of overweight individuals. Then, we saw that the trailer was one that you could drive right up to and get out and walk up a staircase to get a better view. So that's exactly what we did. After snapping a few pictures from the ground and the different Museum items that were left on the Rocks there, we went to the top of the tower to take some photos.

I forgot to take a picture of the view. It was boring, anyhow.

With this being my first high point, I can admit in retrospect that it actually wasn't all that enticing with the views. It was mostly just trees followed by more trees. However, I did feel a sense of omnipotence, realizing how small I was staring out amongst the trees. To think that all their lives are especially important to themselves just as my own is, but I am one me, and there were thousands of trees in this Forest. Most of them as well we're taller than me, and many being so tall that I had to bend my neck upwards.

And just like that, I climbed my first state high point. It's nothing I really ever saw myself doing, until one of my friends gave me the motivational soapbox and encouraged me to go and see the world. So now, I finally had another very good reason to keep going, too. Needless to say, I doubt that I will ever get to all 50 of them, especially considering how difficult Denali of a hike is. However, this doesn't mean that I won't try. If you have the urge or desire to, please join me in your high-pointing adventure and let me know how it turns out for you.

Many Waters of Virginia

One week in June, I went down to The Great Falls Park in Virginia. I met up with a good friend to go out for a day of hiking. We first started off with a warm up hike around Lake Anne, one of the four lakes in Northern Virginia. It has been modernized extensively, and included they Cafe, a bar, a couple retail outlets, and a bookstore that my friend and I went through to find some used literature. We walked around the perimeter of the lake, saw their Unitarian Universalist Church, and hit the road for Great Falls.

Blurry Aesthetics of the Great Potomac Falls.

In all honesty, I wasn't expecting the Great Falls to be as Majestic as they were, especially since I did not realize that I had already seen the other half of them from the Maryland side of the Potomac River. They were Majestic and grandiose, and the Riverside trail made for a very good 3-mile hike or so. It was a very easy trail of about a 2 out of 5. There's a network of trails in this area that you can choose from that extends about 12 miles, so pick your poison accordingly. Either way around, you will see the rivers, see the gorge, and see the beauty of nature as it was intended.

Take me with you to the ocean, sweet river.

After this adventure, we stopped by Cafe Sano, a small little cafe on one of the four legs. It was a Mediterranean restaurant that had very good small plates for decent price, with everything being fresh and mostly organic. It was here only got one of the best falafel wraps I've ever had, whilst enjoying the best homemade tzatziki sauce and ever had, was looking at the lake.

I then stopped at Cafe Amphora for a coffee and dessert with my friend. I had Tiramisu and a soy cappuccino, and fell in love with this little Bakery. It is here that you can actually sit in the Loft above the bakery and watch the bakers hard at work. It is a must-see for anybody who was in the area.

Fanny Mae Gardens  were the last stop on the days of venture, a Botanical Garden riddled with poetic prose and thoughts about the natural world scattered on top of stones throughout the pathway of the garden. It was behind an Urban spot of offices, and was really used by the people that work there. So on that day, we decided to put it to good use, admiring the beauty of nature, the flowers, and quotes by Henry David Thoreau, David Bryant, Sylvia Plath, and Emily Dickinson. They inspired me to be one with the world once more.

Although the hiking here wasn't the most intense thing I've ever done, it was still a very worthwhile trip to go and do for a day. I was extremely excited to be down in Virginia hiking with a close friend, and cannot wait until the day that I returned to like some more.

Wrath of the Gods

on the third full day I spent here, I was able to spend a little bit more time doing creative things. 

Modern Market for lunch with two friends who were also visiting from my hometown of York Pa, and whom then spent much of the day with me. We drove to Aurora to see the Century 16 that was attacked, snapped a photo, and immediately fled for Colorado Springs.

My friends Shae and Caryn took me down to Co. Springs. The drive was gorgeous.

Garden of the Gods was an Ute Reservation until 1860 when pioneers came in. it was renovated by a plethora of people before becoming public domain in 1909. to this day, it is constantly added to and spans 1370 acres. Pike's pea, named after Zebulon Pike, never made it to the top of the 14,000 foot mountain. The view from the top of this mountain inspired Katharine Lee Bates to pen America the Beautiful on a 1895. Alot of the original formations that the Red Rock indians inhabited 3400 years ago still remain today. And so, I decided to meander out into the park.

And here I learned, in the Midwest, if you see a cloud, you RUN.

I then got trapped in a monster hailstorm underneath a rock in the center of the park. I eventually said screw.it and bolted towards the visitor center, getting bombarded and gashed open in the process. I made it to a parking lot, where I found a pleasant Hungarian woman and her family waiting out the storm. Out of the kindness in their heart, they gave me a ride back up to the guest center, where I hailed an Uber to reunite me with my friends.

Wherever you are, Hungarian Family, Köszönöm!

My 20 minute uber ride took me through Old Colorado City, capital pf Colorado for 5 days. people come from all over just to race there and in Pike's Peak. I came back up to my friend's apartment, changed clothes, and got ready for the rest of the evening.

I ended up having the same Uber to go to and from the next two locations. he was a very nice guy from Ethiopia who moved to Colorado about 8 years prior. my first destination was to be Columbine High School, to see the current state of affairs after the horrible massacre 20 years prior. it was easily the most sobering part of my trip to Colorado, and I'm very fortunate that I got to pay my respects to it.

The hillside by the school was extremely placid.

Dinner that night was at Casa Bonita, a beautiful addition to downtown Denver, and a definite tourist spot. They had all you could eat meat enchiladas for $16, but being vegetarian, I had to get a special order (which cost more). They had a gift shop in this Spanish Caballero-themed place, as well as an arcade and a diving show.

Holy House!

Visit Denver sometime - just avoid the hail.

Choosing the Right Hike For You

Everybody goes hiking for different reasons. Some people go for the views they receive at the end of the hike, some guys for the exercise; others go because it gets them out and about. Some people just go because they want a family activity and they have identified that they enjoy nature. The reasons vary from person to person, but there are a few things to bear in mind when selecting a destination.

Defining a hike.

Not only is it a figure of speech (i.e. wow, that’s a hike!) to infer something that is quite some distance away, but it also has its own Merriam-Webster and Oxford dictionary definition. Different people view it in different ways, but it is generally referred to as being a large span of distance that is walk with intention. To many people, it is also used as a figure speech to mean anything that is outside the normal drivable distance. Defining what a true hike means to you as important because you will be able to go from there I decided where you want to go exactly. To quote Merriam Webster, a hike is “to rise up; especially to work upward”. As per Oxford, it is ”a long walk or walking tour”. So now, it’s time to dig into the nitty gritty details of choosing the right style of hike for you.

1) Who is coming with me?

When you establish this, hopefully it is easy to see what you are going to do from there. For instance, you probably wouldn't take your small child or infant hiking for 5 mi uphill. And personally, you and your stern hiking buddy going on a very easy trail would be too boring. As such, you must assess the skill levels and hiking competency of everybody in your hiking group, and it comes down to a few factors; previous hiking experience, level of physical fitness, their willingness to explore, how old they are, and any other underlying health complications.

Normally these things all flow in equilibrium, being with somebody who is older is usually more experienced with hiking and occasionally more physically fit. However, this might not always be the case. Good examples are Jordan Romero, who summited Kilimanjaro at age nine and Everest at age thirteen, or perhaps a couch potato who is willing to explore but not much else (and usually via the discovery channel). That being said, you can start to look at the next item of mention.

2) How much of a challenge do you want to be in for?

This kind of ties in with the other part of this post talking about the Yosemite grading system, but it deserves a mention as well. Are you in your group of people looking for a stroll in the park? Or are you looking to have a challenging hike ahead of you? This factor plays a lot into your physical fitness level, so choose wisely. What might be good for one person may not be for the next person, so it is important to know you and your groupmate’s limitations before you try anything too crazy.

3) How far are you willing to travel?

Unfortunately, a lot of hikes I attempt are dictated strictly on how far away they are. Or, inversely, they're dictated by how long the trail is. If there since we're not an issue, I would be all over the United States hiking right now. Sadly, that is not the case though. Another part of hiking is deciding how far you want to travel to reach the trail, and how far the purported destination is from the trailhead on the trail. Some things you need to plan out an entire day for, others can be done in a quiet afternoon. Either way around, make sure to make your decision responsibly and considering your energy levels. And whatever you do, make sure to bring trail mix and some sort of snack and beverage.

4) Trail Rating.

Next, you must bear in mind the rating of the trail itself. Just as I mentioned earlier, The Yosemite Decimal System was incepted for this reason. It breaks down hiking into 5 sections, as follows:

Class 1: Easy hiking with minimal elevation gain and few obstacles

Class 2: More difficult hiking, some of which may be off-trail, and may require putting your hands down for balance at times.

Class 3: Rock scrambling and/or un-roped climbing.

Class 4: Climbing with a rope and lateral ascension at parts.

Class 5: Technical climbing, mountaineering, ice picking, etc.

So not only do you have it broken down by difficulty and duration necessary for the height, but this YDS breaks it down further into things that you will encounter along the trail. Different difficulties work for different people, but I take it most people reading my blog will stay with a 3 or below, like myself. Class 5 would be something like climbing K2 with ice picks and crampons. Class 4 would be something on par with the Seven Summits and needing to climb them with poles and ropes. And then, if kind of goes downhill from there. Hah! No pun intended. Pick your hike based on the rating you think you can tolerate the best.

5) Do you like your lungs?

If the answer is yes, then stick to altitudes that are lower in hiking, particularly below 8000 feet. If the answer is no, and you feel as though you can handle altitude sickness well, then choose a hike that is above 8000. However, be aware of elevation related sicknesses and physical conditions that can occur in your body. Lake elevation related hypoxia, air bubbles potentially forming above 15000 ft, and so on. You don't need to let it scare you away from a really good hike, but it is something you definitely should be aware of.

6) What scenery are you after?

The last notion that is worth mentioning is that of scenery. There are a lot of great hikes with good scenery, although a lot of them are short. And then inversely, there are a lot of really hard ones. You need to identify what balance is right and make your judgment as such. It would also be a good idea to look at reviews and pictures from other hikers online, as it will give you a better indicator as to what the heck would be like. My blog is one of many places and what you can do just that.

I hope this post provided some insight to how you plan on choosing your next hike. Now get out there, go hiking, and enjoy yourself. You have nothing to lose and everything (and a lot of altitude) to gain!

Check out my Apparel Store at https://teespring.com/big-world-small-feet for apparel!

Benefits of Learning a Foreign Language

I am writing this post to compliment my posts about Europe and all of the non-English-speaking places I have been to. In almost every country in the world in which English is not the first language or official language, kids are required to learn the language as soon as they enter grade school. At this stage of childhood development, the brain isn't completely done neural pruning yet, so that developed neurons and axons that dictate language comprehension abilities get an extra dosage of things to contemplate and comprehend. Although it is harder to learn another language as an adult, it is not impossible. Here are a few reasons why everybody should attempts to learn a foreign language.

1) There are so many languages out there.

According to one ethnographic study, there are well over 6800 languages that are still used in the world today as of 2018. 6% of these languages account for 94% of the world's population, which means they are around 400 languages that are used to communicate with other human beings around the world. English, as it stands, is only one of those languages. There are so many languages out there to be explored, and all of them and their own respect just as easy and hard as English.

2) It increases cultural awareness.

The best way to become aware of other people in this world is to experience what they experience through their own eyes. When you realize how difficult it can be to communicate with Outsiders from an Insider's perspective, you will become much more aware of the problems they face.

3) It increases hirability.

There are literally hundreds of jobs out there nowadays that are looking for somebody who speaks at least two languages. If you are one of those people, you just made yourself much more marketable in every single job market. Just think, if you speak Spanish, and your client speaks Spanish, you save the middleman of having to hire a translator.

4) It is intellectually engaging.

When you're speaking a language that you didn't grow up with, you usually need to put some sort of thought into your choice of words, your grammar, compensating for that which you do not know, and of course, understanding the point of view of whomever you were communicating with. Being bilingual increases your gray matter in your brain, too. It came in handy for me when I was in Italy, which you can read about here.

5) Being multilingual is impressive to everyone.

I would argue that currently in America, since we are not made to learn a second language as part of our education, that at least three-quarters of a population are monolingual. When I tell people that I've been speaking Spanish since I was 14, that I've attempted to learn Arabic, and that I've caught myself bits and pieces of Icelandic, German, in Japanese, their jaws usually hit the floor. I don't claim to be good at any of these languages, but it is still an incredible feat that most people would never care to accomplish. In countries like India, Indonesia, and Switzerland, though, having fluency in multiple languages is an expectation. It activates a part of the brain that most people don't otherwise get.

6) Businesses usually start up because of foreign trade.

There are hundreds of small startups every single day, and a lot of them in the twenty-first century are based around some sort of foreign culture or for in trading. You could be part of that start up from the ground up if you spoke that particular language.

7) It breaks down barriers.

There's this dilemma in society called the language barrier. However, if you know even a few words of another language, you can help her move that barrier. You grow closer to people's hearts by trying to relate to them on this basic human level.

8) The friends you'll meet and the networking you'll create.

Whether it is a club in high school, an interest group in college, or something in your professional life, you will always meet people who share the same language interests as you. You'll meet them everywhere and anywhere.

9) Everything you learn about a culture and its nuances.

Although I described this briefly earlier, it deserves further explanation. There are so many things that make up a culture that are derivative of language. And of course, vice-versa also applies. As you are learning a foreign language, you will learn about the people, how they dress, how they act, their sense of humor, their social lives, their food, the where they live, their religion, their music, and so many other unique aspects of their lives. You just gained an Insider's perspective to a whole new group of people to become friends with.

10) You'll feel at home anywhere.

If you've already learned one foreign language, then picking up on bits and pieces of another will become a no-brainer exercise. And should you just so happen to land where are you study the language, you'll be even better off yet. It will surprise you when you're language comprehension abilities will come in handy, especially when traveling somewhere in which your first language is not theirs.

On a personal addendum, being forced by my mother to learn Spanish in high school was one of the best decisions of my entire life. When I worked as a cashier at Giant, I had so many incredible conversations with people simply because their first language was Spanish and not English. I've even had it occur where individuals only speak maybe four words of English,

 and I need to rely on someone else for translation or from my own acquired word Bank. When I took Arabic, I never thought that I would be able to go to a mosque and hold a conversation with the Imam and the adherence. When I started learning Icelandic, I never thought I'd be told by several Icelanders that I have perfect pronunciation and should consider visiting again. The doors that foreign language has open for me have been incredible, and really, I still am surprised that when my language abilities come in handy. I will be going back to Europe, but this time, with better German and Spanish skills yet. And if any of you reading my blog ever go abroad, it will serve you the same gratitude and fortune.